Food has always been a main focus in my life. They say some people live to eat and others eat to live. I am definitely in the first category. I love restaurants and cooking, baking and pot lucks. I love the social aspect of eating and the pure joy that a wonderful meal provides. I am not an emotional eater, actually, when I am really emotional or stressed, I get sick to my stomach and food is the last thing I want. I do, however, eat when I am bored. I love snacks and ice cream and I haven't met many foods I don't like. To go along with all of this, I am not a consistent exerciser. I will start doing well on an exercise plan, only to let life and time get in the way. It is because of these things that I need to get on track. I need a plan that I won't break and a "diet" that allows me the foods I love and the freedom to eat out and socially.
I can't really remember a time in my life that I didn't have some kind of relationship with food and exercise. Even in high school, when I was a scrawny, knots for knees, 110 lb, lanky girl, I exercised and dieted. I would do the fad diets that were "cool" at the time and my girlfriends and I would all get together after school to do exercise videos. I don't think we actually worked out. We more socialized and danced around, girls just being girls. Plus, I was always involved in some type of school sport or activity that kept me pretty active and slim.
I went away to college and somehow, throughout endless nights of drinking beer and eating poorly, I maintained my figure. Certainly more than 110 lbs, but I was pretty happy with my weight of 120-130lbs. Even still, I can remember my roommates and I doing many variations of diets and I would run around my apartment complex or neighborhood to get some exercise. I wasn't very consistent or serious about my workouts so it is no surprise that after college was over, I began to gain weight.
The first few years out of college, I didn't gain much. I was not exercising very regularly or eating healthy so I guess I just expected my body to keep up. It was at that point when I had met Mike and we began dating seriously. We moved in together and since I had never lived with a boyfriend before, I thought that I should be making "man-type" meals. I was making casseroles and meatloaf, spaghetti and tacos almost weekly. I always found new recipes to try out and none of them were very healthy. Add that to our several nights a week eating out and the pounds definitely started to pack on.
Fast forward a few years later to when I got engaged. At that point, I was 174 lbs. I was disgusted with myself and very unhappy. I saw photos of the first few months of our engagement and knew I had to make a change.I set a goal to be 150 lbs at my wedding.
So, I hit the gym and started counting calories. I tried working out for about 3 months on my own, without any help. I lost probably 5 lbs in that 3 months which was not enough for me. Mike begged me to let him give me some pointers at the gym. We started getting up every morning and going to the gym by 6am. He is actually who taught me about weight training and how it actually burns more calories than cardio. Although I have always known that, I just didn't believe it. In a little over 4 months of working out with Mike and eating healthy, I lost 15 lbs.
Not only was the weight coming off, but I wasn't getting sick as often either. My clothes were looking great and I even had to go down a size. My arms were more toned and my belly was flatter. I still didn't have abs or big muscular legs, but I was feeling wonderful.
On the day of my wedding, exactly 1 year after I began my quest to lose weight, I was 148 lbs. I am so happy with the way I looked on my wedding day and made a promise to myself that I would never, ever go back to the way I was. I remember that promise now because I have gained roughly 8-10 lbs since then. I feel myself softening and the numbers creeping back up on the scale. I know that if I do not get a hold of this now, I will spiral back out of control.
My new goals are going to be broken down into long term and short term. My long term goal, I would like to accomplish in 1 year, is to lose 25 lbs. My short term goal would be to lose 10 lbs by 2012. That gives me 3 months to get back to my happy, wedding weight. This is my new promise to myself. You all better keep me in check!
Check out the difference:
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| Me - the day after we got engaged. |
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| Me - the day before I got married. Photo courtesy of Lindsay :) |
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